The Best Of FII’s Articles On Mental Health In 2017

In 2017 we published over 50 pieces on mental healthand its intersection with sexuality, gender, family, social structures and more. The number of people who wrote for us grew (both in numbers and in differences of perspective) as did the number of people who read our work.

It is also the year we started working on a report to assess the state of mental healthcare in India, using the lenses of gender justice and human rights. The Mental Health Bill, 2016 was of course a prompt for this report. Mental illnesses impact people’s ability to live healthy and functional lives and spill into their social, family and work lives as well. Mental illnesses often co-exist with other conditions such as injury and violence, cardiovascular disease and more – not recognizing the mental health aspect in such situations impacts people’s lives adversely.

There remains a significant amount of work to be done in the field of mental health – whether it is by the government in terms of policies (not just writing them but also implementing them) or distribution of resources. There are simply not enough medical professionals in India to cope with the need for mental healthcare. Treatment gap estimates vary drastically and are thought to be between 28% to 86% depending on the disorder.

There is a lot more we would like to do in 2018 to make our Mental Health section robust and more inclusive, including publishing and amplifying voices and content related to Mental Health that we do not find easily – our focus has been largely urban but as we go into the next year, we will continue searching for and profiling the work being done in smaller cities and towns.

FII’s work is predominantly in English and this is another area where we can do a better job of representing people who speak different languages. In conclusion, our scope grew tremendously in 2017 but as always, there is immense work to be done to shine a light on the intersectionality of mental health. Hopefully the articles linked in this piece have given you something to think about.

As adults, especially as women, we must call out patriarchy inside our homes. We need to take responsibility and make an ally of our mother.As adults, especially as women, we must call out patriarchy inside our homes. We need to take responsibility and make mothers our allies.

Kittur Chennamma, queen of Kittur, was an Indian ruler to lead an armed rebellion against the British East India Company. Even though her attempt failed, she was an inspiration for the upcoming freedom fighters.

Who We Are

Get Involved

Terms

Feminism in India is an award-winning digital intersectional feminist platform to learn, educate and develop a feminist consciousness among the youth. It is required to unravel the F-word and demystify all the negativity surrounding it. FII amplifies the voices of women and marginalized communities using tools of art, media, culture, technology and community.